New Commercial Shows the Serious Side of Body-Shaming

It gave us the chills — and a lot to think about.

How many times do you say, both aloud and in your head, "I don't like my [insert body part here]. I wish it were more..." If the answer is often, you're not alone. You hope and pray your daughter won't develop the same insecurities about her own body, but as Dove's new emotional video shows, she most likely is.

As part of its Self-Esteem Project, the company created a new video ad called Legacy where they asked a group of mothers to write down a list of likes and dislikes about their looks. One mother said she didn't like her eyes, nose, or arms. Another isn't a fan of her legs, but acknowledges that they're strong and make her a good runner.

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Then, Dove asked these women's daughters to write out their thoughts on the same question. After reading her daughter's response, each mother displayed a deep sense of sadness. The little girls' comments were a direct reflection of their mothers' attitudes toward their own bodies.

The mother who said she didn't like her eyes, nose, or arms, read that her daughter, in turn, did not like her eyes, nose, or arms either. "I did say to her, you know, I don't like this thing, or this body part of mine, and I think that's how she picked it up," the mom acknowledged.

This isn't the first time Dove has tapped into the topic. Last year, the beauty company released Real Beauty Sketches, in which it asked a sketch artist to draw the same woman, sight unseen, based on her own description of herself and that of a stranger — and to startling results. But Legacy makes the message all that more painstaking. We can no longer talk about ourselves in unloving ways — if only to try and make sure the pattern ends with us.